Endangered sea turtle nest discovered at Galveston Island State Park for the primary time in a decade – Houston Public Media

A nest of endangered sea turtle eggs was found on the beachside of Galveston Island State Park final week — the primary nest found at the park in over a decade.

The nest contained 107 eggs laid by a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which is one of the most endangered sea turtle species on the earth.

This was the primary nest found at Galveston Island State Park since 2012, in keeping with Christopher Marshall, a professor of Marine Biology at Texas A&M and director for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Analysis.

Once the nest was discovered, it was delivered to an incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore, Marshall stated.

“Each egg matters,” Marshall stated. "A number of nesting habitat for the Kemp's Ridley has been misplaced to storms, high tide and predation, which is why it is important to transport these nests to an setting the place they've one of the best chance for survival into maturity."

The species was virtually misplaced within the Eighties till intensive conservation efforts had been applied on nesting beaches and through fisheries management, in accordance with NOAA Fisheries. Bycatch — the intentional seize of non-target species while fishing — continues to be the biggest risk going through Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.

Marshall said the typical nesting season for the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle runs between April 1 and July 15. He urged anybody who finds a nest to remain no less than 60 toes away and to name the Sea Turtle hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5.

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